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Genesis 10:21

in Genesis 10

And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.

KJV

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

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This verse in Genesis 10

Commentary

10 notes on this verse
Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean. For Elam left behind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians.

This site's exposition

Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber

Sons are born to Shem last, though he is named first everywhere else, and the rest of the book follows his line. The verse names him forefather of all the sons of Eber, a descendant four generations down, whose name stands behind the word Hebrew. The clause about the older brother is read two ways. John Wesley takes Japheth as the elder, others Shem.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron) · Written before 735.

proposed

From Shem were also born the fathers of all the sons of Heber, the brother of Japheth the elder. He calls him the brother of Japheth, but does not mention him being the brother of Ham, because he understands those who are united in the …

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

He was the brother of Japheth the elder; by which it appears, that though Shem be commonly put first, yet he was not Noah's first-born, but Japheth was elder. But why should this also be put as part of Shem's description, that he was the brother of Japheth, since that had been said before?

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:100%@v1-2

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

He was the brother of Japheth the elder; by which it appears, that though Shem be commonly put first, yet he was not Noah's first-born, but Japheth was elder. But why should this also be put as part of Shem's description, that he was the brother of Japheth, since that had been said before?
Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Note, (1.) Those are brethren in the best manner that are so by grace, and that meet in the covenant of God and in the communion of saints. (2.) God, in dispensing his grace, does not go by seniority, but the younger sometimes gets the start of the elder in coming into the church; so the last shall be first and the first last.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber - It is generally supposed that the Hebrews derived their name from Eber or Heber, son of Shem; but it appears much more likely that they had it from the circumstance of Abraham passing over (for so the word עבר abar signifies) the river Euphrates to come into the land of Canaan. See the history of Abraham, Gen 14:13 (note).
- XXXIII.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וּלְשֵׁ֥םand to Shem

    ulshemH8035 →17 times

  • יֻלַּ֖ד<it> was born

    yuladH3205 →496 times

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • ה֑וּאhe

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

  • אֲבִי֙[the] father of

    ʾaviH1 →1212 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • בְּנֵי־[the] sons of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עֵ֔בֶרEber

    ʾeverH5677 →15 times

  • אֲחִ֖י[the] brother of

    ʾachiH251 →630 times

  • יֶ֥פֶתJapheth

    yefetH3315 →11 times

  • הַגָּדֽוֹל׃<the> old

    hagadolH1419 →526 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 24:24Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”3 works1 Chronicles 1:19Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.3 worksGenesis 5:32After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.3 worksGenesis 10:25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.3 worksGenesis 11:10–26This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.2 worksGenesis 11:16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 39:14she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.2 worksGenesis 7:13On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—2 worksGenesis 10:2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.1 works

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Numbers 24:24

    Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”

    it leads to

    • Genesis 10:4

      And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.

    • Daniel 10:20

      “Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece…

    • Daniel 11:30

      Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to…

    • Genesis 10:21–25

      And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

    • Numbers 24:20

      Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 10 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews - Book I, Chapter 6, Sections 4 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 10 →